Crier notices for the weeks of May 20 and 27
Personal Messages
Remembering a colleague
I am sad to share that our colleague Jim Sowers passed away on Sunday, May 12. Jim worked at the college for more than 30 years, most recently as networking technician in the Department of Information Technology. A celebration of his life was held this past weekend. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Habitat for Humanity International, 121 Habitat St., Americus, GA 31709-3498 or to China Care Brown. Donations can also be made at the Help Desk (Room 2113, Knight Campus) and a card is available to sign that will be sent to Jim's family.
- Bruce Barrett
New Announcements
Travel and agency reimbursement
 The college’s fiscal year ends on June 30. To ensure all FY2013 activity is charged to the proper budget year, please submit all travel reimbursement and agency purchase claims for activity through June 30 to the Controller’s Office no later than July 12. Travel and agency reimbursement checks will be issued by July 22. If you have any questions, please contact Jo Anne Robitaille in the Controller's Office at 825-2150 or jrobitaille@ccri.edu.
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Instructional technology workshops for faculty
 The Instructional Technology group announces the following workshops to be held in June. All CCRI faculty are invited to attend. Please visit the Faculty Technology Workshop website for the detailed workshop schedule, descriptions, and registration. Workshop topics include:
- Getting started with Blackboard
- What's new in Blackboard
- Learn the essentials for creating and delivering online assessments
- Video captioning with Camtasia Studio
- Blackboard best practices
In addition, save the date for Faculty Technology Day to be held Tuesday, Aug. 27. Plan to join your colleagues for a day filled with teaching, learning and technology. Program details and registration will be shared by email this summer. For more information, or to suggest session topics, contact MaryAdele Combe, manager of instructional support. One on one and small group training are available by appointment at each campus.
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Events
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Ongoing News and Events
What's new in the arts?
 The Community College of Rhode Island Department of Art has published the Spring 2013 issue of ART-I-FACTS, its department newsletter, featuring news and updates about students, alumni and faculty. Read more.
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Evaluating student progress
 Have you ever given an exam and been disappointed by your students’ performance? Have you ever had students tell you they didn’t know what to study for the test? Would you like to enable students to be more successful on exams while maintaining your standards? If your answer to any of the above questions is affirmative, please join the Faculty Learning Community on Evaluating Student Progress. We'll meet from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28 at the Knight Campus in Warwick (room location TBA) and continue meeting regularly throughout the Fall 2013 semester. For more information, contact Assessment Coordinator Jeanne Mullaney.
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Common Reading Project book selected
 The Common Reading Project book for the 2013-14 academic year is "All Souls" by Michael Patrick MacDonald. It is a memoir about his early life in a South Boston project where mostly Irish Catholics resided. Theft, drugs, violence and death affected his family and neighborhood. Even though life was difficult, "Southies" formed a strong bond and identity in order to survive. Assistant Professor Beth Anish, English Department, has invited MacDonald to speak at the Knight Campus's Irish Studies Conference in the fall. For more information, contact Professor of English Alicia Lyon.
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CITLA presents Spring Symposium May 23
 Instructor Amy Baldwin, from Pulaski Technical College (AR), will present a workshop entitled "I Have To Do What? Helping Students Understand the Culture and the Unwritten Rules of College" from noon to 4 p.m. on May 23, in Room 4090 at the Knight Campus in Warwick. "What are office hours?" and "What is a syllabus?" are common questions faculty hear when trying to help their first-year students acclimate to the culture of college. Many CCRI students are the first in their families to enroll in college; others may come from a culture of origin that has different rules and expectations, and the faster they can learn the new rules of college, the more successful they will be in the long run. This interactive workshop provides participants with suggested content, active learning strategies and meaningful and engaging assignments that can help first-year students learn the unwritten rules of college culture. The workshop also will cover understanding college culture and expectations, building meaningful relationships and improving academic skills. Participants will each receive a booklet that provides instructions and samples. If you plan to attend, please RSVP online.
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Human Resources Announcement Corner
In addition to its important announcements, the Office of Human Resources wants to share good news with you on a regular basis. If you have a birth, marriage or a new hire that you would like to share with the college community, please send an email to humanresources@ccri.edu.
New hires
The Community College of Rhode Island welcomes the following new hire:
- Robin Watters, senior teller in the Bursar’s Office in Providence.
- Benjamin Leveillee, instructional design specialist in IT in Newport.
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Bioterrorism Preparedness Program Policy
As part of CCRI’s commitment to keeping employees up to date about policies and procedures, please review the Bioterrorism Preparedness Program Policy. If you have any questions about this policy, please call Dale Wetherell, chief of Campus Police, at 825-2109.
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Open enrollment period is underway
The annual open enrollment period is being held now through June 7. This is the only time this year when employees can make changes or enroll in the following benefit programs:
- Medical: United Healthcare
- Dental: Delta Dental of Rhode Island
- Vision: Vision Service Plan
- Group legal insurance: Hyatt Legal Plan
- Basic and supplemental life insurance: Aetna
- 457 Deferred Compensation Plan
- CollegeBoundfund
- Short term disability, accident and cancer insurance: AFLAC
- Flexible spending account for medical and dependent care: Flex-Plan Services Inc. (FPS)
If you wish to make changes or enroll, please contact the Office of Human Resources at 825-2311 to complete the form(s) no later than June 7. All election changes will become effective on July 1. Elections or changes, including health waiver elections or changes, can only occur during the annual open enrollment period unless a qualifying status change occurs during the year.
Visit the Office of Human Resources website for forms. Information regarding new co-shares will be posted when available.
Note: Effective July 1, CCRI's medical plan will cover 100 percent of the cost of pharmacy Tier 1 contraceptives for women as mandated by the Federal Health Care Reform Act.
An AFLAC agent will be on the following campuses if you wish to gather information about short term disability, accident or cancer insurance. The representative will be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the following days:
- Tuesday, May 21 - Flanagan Campus in Lincoln
- Wednesday, May 22 - Newport County Campus
If you are not able to attend an on-site visit, you may schedule an appointment by calling Doreen Sylvia at 401-286-2871.
All current medical and dependent flexible spending account participants must make a new election in order to continue to participate after June 2013.
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Performance evaluations
Performance evaluation forms have been distributed to all department heads for all non-classified and classified employees via email. Non-classified and classified employees were emailed a letter and the Employee Preparation for Performance Review Meeting form on April 3. All non-classified and classified job descriptions may be viewed online. Performance evaluations should be completed and returned to Human Resources by Friday, May 24.
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Schedule a counseling session with a TIAA-CREF consultant
CCRI's TIAA-CREF representative, Allen Waters, is available for one-on-one consultation meetings throughout 2013. Read more.
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